Car crashes no accident

STAWELL - It has taken Tracey Ellen a long time to accept that no car
crash can be classified as an 'accident'.

The one year anniversary of her son Dean's death past
earlier this month and the wounds are still fresh.

"There is no such thing as an accident," Ms Ellen
said.

"It would be lovely to think it was just an accident,
but it is not. People make choices behind the wheel that lead to those things
happening - That is no accident.

"People are sober when they make the decision to start
drinking and they need to have a plan in place if they are going to have a big
night, because drinking or drugs are a mind altering thing that will affect
your driving.

"This is what has been discovered to have been the
cause behind the crash that killed Dean."

Dean moved from Stawell to Western Australia with his
girlfriend Sherridyn early last year for work commitments.

It was on October 1, 2011 - AFL grand final day - that the
20-year-old lost his life after the car he was a passenger in left the road and
crashed.

His boss, the driver at the time and his work colleague, who
Dean had given the front seat to, survived the incident.

The trio had been at a pub in a remote town watching Dean's
beloved team Collingwood take on Geelong, before driving back to work.

Following a police investigation the driver was charged with
two counts of dangerous driving and will face court at a later date.

For Ms Ellen and her family their life will never be the
same, but things are particularly hard around this time of year.

"There is no such thing as ever getting back to
normal," she said.

"Grand final day, it doesn't matter who is playing,
will always be difficult. The ache inside never goes away, but birthdays and
anniversaries seem to bring it to the surface more.

"(On the one-year anniversary) We went to the cemetery
and took some fresh flowers up there and had a little chat to him. I found
myself on the anniversary every minute thinking a year ago he would have still
been alive and then when the time came, that was hard."

Ms Ellen said she can't prevent a tragedy like this
happening to another family, but hopes by talking about it people will think
about making better decisions when they get behind the wheel.

"What else can I do now but warn others of the choices
they make," she said.

"I would love to see some of the people responsible for
making bad choices and causing the death speaking on the TAC ads and pages
saying 'Look at what I did because I chose to drink and drive, or speed, or I
was tired and still chose to drive and fell asleep.'

"Distraction and concentration are another big reason
for crashes, there are lots of them but speed and alcohol are the two easiest
to eliminate. We can't predict a kangaroo jumping out or a tree falling in
front of you, but speeding and drink driving we can make choices about."

Ms Ellen still struggles to come to grips with her son's
decision to get into the vehicle with a driver that had been drinking and said
that he was normally the one that made sensible decisions.

She said her family and Stawell friends remember Dean as a
loyal mate, who was funny and always had a good attitude.

"He would always say that he was living 11 out of 10
and how many 20-year-olds can say that?" she said.

"He had fallen in love and was living in Western
Australia for only seven months when this happened and he thought he was living
the dream.

"He knew right from wrong, but I guess his biggest
mistake was getting in that vehicle."

A trial date for the driver of the vehicle will be
determined on December 7 and Ms Ellen said she will fly to Perth for the
hearing.

She encouraged any parent that had experienced the loss of a
child to road trauma to call the Wimmera-based Compassionate Friends Bereaved
Parents Support Group on 5382 4724.